Tigers on the brink of record T20I total as rain stops play

The rain stopped the play just before the end of Bangladesh's innings as the hosts posted a mammoth 207/5 after 19.2 overs. They are just eight runs away from breaking their highest T20I total and they have four legal deliveries to do that.

After being asked to bat first, the hosts made an aggressive start thanks to the opening duo of Litton Das and Rony Talukdar.

Litton began the run-fest with a maximum in the very first over of the innings. Rony Talukder then hit another maximum in the next over before Litton hit a boundary in the same over. The Tigers reached 25 in the first two overs.

There were boundaries and over boundaries in the next few overs. The opening duo actually hit at least a boundary in each of the first seven overs. 

Bangladesh brought up 50 in the fifth over, 4.1 overs to be specific and this was the quickest 50 in T20Is in Chattogram. And they broke the record of their highest powerplay score (81/0) in T20Is. The previous best was 74/1 against Sri Lanka in 2018.

Litton was the first batter to be dismissed in the eighth over missing his 10th T20I half-century by just three runs. He hit four boundaries and three maximums in his 47-run knock of just 23 balls at a strike rate of more than 200.

But Rony didn't miss his maiden T20I fifty. He struck two boundaries in the last two balls of the ninth over to bring up his maiden fifty in international cricket as Bangladesh reached 105/1. Rony took only 24 balls to reach the milestone. This was the third

After 10 overs, the hosts were 116 for the loss of one wicket. The three batters hit 10 boundaries and six maximums combined in that time.

Najmul Hossain Shanto was the second man to be dismissed after building a 27-run partnership with Rony. He managed to score 14 runs from 13 balls hitting just one six in his innings. 

Shamim Hossain was a surprise introduction at number four, mostly due to the left-right combination. He soon joined the party hitting a boundary and a six in the 12th over.

Bangladesh's 150 came up in the 14th over thanks to a Rony Talukdar boundary through the long-on region. Rony was dismissed in the same over after bagging 67 off 38 balls hitting seven boundaries and three maximums. 

Shamim gave his wicket away after a quickfire 30 off 20 balls in the 17th over. The southpaw had a fine chance to make his innings longer in order to cement his place in the side but he gave his wicket away rather cheaply playing an imbalance shot. Hridoy was quiet at the other end scoring only three in three balls. Shakib came in at six and struck a boundary in the very first ball. 

Shakib apparently tried each and every ball that he faced. Hridoy took Bangladesh over 200 in the 19th over as he hit his first maximum before getting dismissed in the very next ball. This is the first time a team has gone past 200 in an international match at this venue. 

The was a light rain at the end part of the innings but it got heavier and forced the play to stop in the final over.